List of crossings of the River Thames facts for kids

London Bridge, in central London

Newbridge, in rural Oxfordshire

The River Thames is the second-longest river in the United Kingdom. It flows right through the capital city and has many ways to cross it.

If you count all the different paths the river takes, including around its islands, there are over 300 bridges! The main part of the Thames, which is about 185 miles (298 km) long west of Tilbury, has 27 tunnels, six public ferries, one cable car, and even one place where you can still cross by foot or vehicle through shallow water (a ford).

Overall, 138 main bridges cross the river from one end to the other. This list includes those, plus two bridges that are no longer there and one special bridge used for a festival. There are also more than 162 other bridges that connect to islands or cross smaller side channels, especially near Oxford. These smaller crossings are not listed here.

The widest part of the river, near the sea, is quite shallow. There are no crossings east of Tilbury, which is where the river meets the sea.

The Thames: A Natural Barrier and Border

For a long time, the River Thames was a huge natural barrier. Before many bridges were built, it was hard to cross. In ancient times, after the Romans left Britain, different tribes and kingdoms used the river to mark their lands.

Later, in Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, the Thames often formed the border between different counties. For example, on the north side, it flowed between Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Middlesex, and Essex. On the south side, it separated Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey, and Kent.

Over the centuries, as more bridges were built, it became easier to cross the river. This helped towns and communities on both sides to grow together and share responsibilities.

Some county borders changed over time. For instance, Caversham moved into Berkshire in 1911. In 1965, when Greater London was created, some areas that were in Middlesex and Surrey became part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Even with these changes, in sports like rowing, football, and cricket, people often still refer to the traditional county names for the river banks.

A Look Back: How Crossings Developed

Wallingford Bridge (Oxfordshire)

The very first ways to cross the Thames were likely "fords." These were shallow spots, usually over gravel, where people could walk or ride across the river. Famous fords were found at Wallingford and Oxford. It's thought that the Romans built the first London Bridge on the site of a prehistoric ford.

Over time, the river became deeper in some places due to dams and embankments, so most fords disappeared. However, one regular ford still exists today at Duxford.

Many of the road bridges we see today are built where old fords, ferries, or wooden bridges used to be. The earliest major crossings built by the Romans were at London Bridge and Staines Bridge. You can still see parts of a very old Saxon bridge at Folly Bridge in Oxford. Medieval stone bridges, like Wallingford, Newbridge in Oxfordshire, and Abingdon Bridges, are still used today.

For a long time, Kingston Bridge was the only crossing between London Bridge and Staines. This was true until the early 1700s.

Around 1670, people wanted to build new bridges in London, but the powerful Company of Watermen stopped them. This company managed the many ferry services on the river, and they worried that bridges would take away the jobs of the 60,000 river workers.

An old picture by Claes Van Visscher showing London Bridge in 1616

In the 1700s and 1800s, many stone and brick bridges were built or rebuilt. These included Westminster, Putney, Datchet, Windsor, and Sonning Bridges. In the 1800s, more central London road bridges appeared, with Tower Bridge being the most famous. Tower Bridge is a bascule bridge, meaning it can open up to let tall ships pass underneath. More recent road bridges include those for bypasses and motorways, like the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge on the M25.

The arrival of railways in the 1800s led to a lot of new bridge building. Examples include Blackfriars and Charing Cross (Hungerford) Railway Bridge in central London. The famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed three impressive railway bridges at Maidenhead, Gatehampton, and Moulsford.

The world's first underwater tunnel was the Thames Tunnel, built in 1843 by Marc Isambard Brunel. It was meant for horse-drawn carriages but became a pedestrian walkway. Since 1869, it has carried trains on the East London Line. The Tower Subway (1870) was also briefly a railway. Later, many deep tube lines were built under the river. At the end of the 1800s, two road tunnels were built in East London: the Blackwall Tunnel and the Rotherhithe Tunnel. The newest tunnel is part of the Dartford Crossing.

Many footbridges were built across the weirs (small dams) on the non-tidal part of the river. Some of these remained when locks were built, like at Benson Lock. Around the year 2000, several new footbridges were added, often as part of the Thames Path or for the Millennium celebrations. These include Temple, Bloomers Hole, the Hungerford Footbridges, and the Millennium Bridge.

Six ferries still cross the river:

• The Woolwich Ferry and the Gravesend–Tilbury Ferry (for pedestrians only) are in the eastern part of the Thames.
• Upstream of central London, the Hammertons Ferry carries passengers between Ham House and Marble Hill House in Twickenham.
• Further upstream, the Hampton Ferry, the Sunbury Ferry, and the Shepperton to Weybridge Ferry are all pedestrian ferries west of London.

About the List of Crossings

The list of crossings starts from the sea (estuary) and goes upstream towards the river's source. Some of the crossings listed are public footbridges that use walkways over lock gates and then bridges next to or on top of the weir(s) to reach the other side of the river. Many other locks on the River Thames also have walkways, but these don't fully cross the river or are only for authorized people, so they are not included in this list.

There are also boat services that operate on the river. While their main job isn't to carry people directly across, some do allow you to cross the river, though usually not to a point directly opposite where you started.

North Sea to London

Future Crossings

• The Lower Thames Crossing is a planned road tunnel near the Thames Cable Tunnel. It might open in 2028.
• [[Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1782: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]] [Wikidata] is a proposed tunnel for trams between Kent and Essex.

East London

Under Construction

• The Silvertown Tunnel started being built in August 2020 and should be finished in 2025. It will help ease traffic in the Blackwall Tunnels and allow bigger trucks and double-decker buses to cross the river.

Future Crossings

• The Belvedere Crossing, a planned bridge between Belvedere and Rainham.
• The Gallions Reach Crossing has been suggested as a ferry, bridge, or tunnel between Beckton and Thamesmead.
• An extension of the Docklands Light Railway across the river to Thamesmead is also proposed.
• The Rotherhithe crossing, a pedestrian and cycle crossing between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf, was first planned as a bridge. However, in 2019, plans for a bridge were stopped, and now a ferry service is being considered instead.

Central London

Former Crossings

• During World War II, at least two Emergency Thames Bridges were built as a safety measure. One was from Victoria Embankment to County Hall, London (1942-1948), and another was between Millbank (near Tate Britain) and Lambeth (1942-1948).

Planned Crossings

• Nine Elms-Pimlico cycle and pedestrian bridge.

South West London

Planned Crossings

• Diamond Jubilee Footbridge, a pedestrian bridge next to Battersea Railway Bridge, approved in 2013.

London to Windsor

Former Crossings

• The Datchet Bridge, built in 1707, was taken down in 1848. The Albert and Victoria bridges replaced it.

Windsor to Reading

Former Crossings

• A footbridge was built in 2012 for the London Olympics. It helped spectators get to the rowing events at Dorney Lake from Windsor Racecourse. It was removed after the Olympics.

Reading to Oxford

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Planned Crossings

• Oxpens River Bridge (between Gasworks and Osney Rail Bridges in Oxford, 51°44'50.2"N 1°15'56.0"W) is a planned footbridge, expected to be finished in 2025.

Oxford to Cricklade

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Cricklade to the Source

Not all bridges above Cricklade are listed here. For example, there are many small farm bridges and bridges to homes in Ashton Keynes that are not mentioned.

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The river splits as it passes through Ashton Keynes. An alternative route to the one listed above crosses High Bridge at 51°38′13″N 1°55′46″W / 51.63694°N 1.92944°W / 51.63694; -1.92944 (High Bridge, Ashton Keynes) and Three Bridges at 51°38′18″N 1°56′21″W / 51.63833°N 1.93917°W / 51.63833; -1.93917 (Three Bridges, Ashton Keynes).

See Also

• Islands in the River Thames
• Locks and weirs on the River Thames
• List of bridges in London
• London River Services
• Thames Path
• Tunnels underneath the River Thames